IUCN threat status:

Comprehensive Description

Description

Leptodactylus bolivianus is a medium to large sized frog in which females have a snout-vent length of 61.2 – 107.7 mm (mean of 85.3 mm) and males have a snout-vent length of 79.0 – 121.5 mm (mean of 104.6 mm). Adult males have chisel-shaped thumb spines. Toes are fringed, heavy dorsolateral folds are present from behind eye to the sacrum, then faint beyond sacrum. A lighter area is present from below the nostrils to beyond the tympanum, above the lip. Body shape is raniform (Heyer and de Sá 2011).

This species is consistently identified from other members of the L. bolivianus complex by the presence of a single chisel shaped spine on the thumb of sexually mature males. It has no spines on the chest, but has fringed toes and is raniform in shape (Heyer and de Sá 2011).

In life, Leptodactylus bolivianus is a light brown to tan frog. It has darker (chocolate) spots and leg bars. Upper lip is light in color. Vent is very light tan. Overall dorsal coloration is light brown, usually with light patterning. The hind limbs exhibit faint to moderate oblong blotches and spots, which appear as bars. Ventral coloration very light (Heyer and de Sá 2011).

Species authorities are Boulenger, 1898; Capocaccia, 1957; and Heyer and de Sá, 2011

This species was previously described as a very wide-ranging, single species. In 2011, Heyer and de Sá defined it morphologically and molecularly, restricting the distribution of L. bolivianus to the Amazon basin from the proximity of Manaus, Brazil west to the Andes.

The specific name refers to the nation of Bolivia where the type specimen was collected (Heyer and de Sá 2011).